Phil Ivey wins 10th bracelet, comes through on prop bet

Phil Ivey has come out on top of World Series of Poker Event #50, $1500 8-Game, winning $167,332, his 10th gold bracelet, and most importantly, the joint bracelet proposition bet that he made in tandem with Daniel Negreanu.

Ivey and Negreanu’s bet has been the subject of much discussion both before the series kicked off and as it’s worn on. The two of them got together and decided to bet at even money with anyone interested that one or the other of them would win a bracelet this year. Opinions on whether the bet was a good one have been divided, but the general consensus seems to be that it was close either way.

49 events in, those who took the bet would have been feeling pretty good about their choice. Negreanu gave everyone a sweat in Event #13, but came up short against Paul Volpe and ended up finishing second. For a while, that seemed like it might have been the pair’s best shot at winning the bet.

Mixed games tend to favour the most skilled and experienced players, however, and so the 8-Game tournament was always likely to be a good chance for the two of them. Indeed, both Negreanu and Ivey made it through to the final day, Ivey standing in 3rd place and Negreanu 9th in chips with 14 players left. Although still far from a sure thing at that point, it was beginning to seem like destiny that one of them would come through.

Negreanu ended up falling in 9th, just shy of final table, first getting crippled and then busted in a single orbit of Pot Limit Omaha. Ivey, however, was running hot and was far and away the chip leader by that point. He never looked back, dominating all opponents at the final table and finally crushing Bruce Yamron in a few hands of Stud and finishing him off in Omana-8.

In winning his 10th bracelet, Ivey joins a rather exclusive club, which now consists of himself, Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson. Chan and Brunson also have exactly ten, while only Hellmuth has more, at 13. Fame and setting records have never been Ivey’s priorities, however; for him, it is likely all about the money. No one but Ivey and Negreanu know exactly how much action they got on their prop bet, but it is certainly a lot more than the $167k Ivey took home for winning the event, and, one would guess, is probably in the seven figures.

Having won their bet, Ivey and Negreanu can now relax for the remainder of the series and look forward to the Big One for One Drop, in which they’ll both be playing. Certainly, they’ll both be feeling much more relaxed about that million-dollar gamble now that this one has gone their way.

Alex Weldon is a game designer by day and poker tournament wizard by night. You can read more from Alex at www.benefactum.ca and follow him on Twitter at @benefactumgames